Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 29,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Barclays boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.07.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $97.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.58. The firm has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.